Power Tidy
by j-wills
Summary: A tidied version of Price of Power: The Cole Turner mini series begins here! Cole has finally accepted Phoebe doesn't want him and has since become a wreck. However, when a colleague from work goes missing, he teams up with Darryl & gets on the cas
1. The Beginning

_**Price of Power**_

_Written by J.Wills_

_Part One_

Alone and a mess, Cole sat on the sofa in his penthouse – drinking alcohol. It had no affect on him at all, and it pained him dearly. It pained him because it was a human thing, drink too much alcohol and you get drunk. The only thing he could do that was human was grow a beard, and he'd already done that. He looked up at the clock above the giant marble fireplace; they'd only just entered the afternoon. Cole crushed his bottle and launched it at the clock, shattering both the bottle and clock. It reminded him of Phoebe – because it was a house warming present from her sisters.

The demon now sighed and got up from the sofa, going over to his cupboard he got out the dustpan and brush. Cole then began clearing the all the glass, this was something he could do in seconds but because it involved using demonic powers – he resisted and did it the slow human way.

At that moment, his cell phone starting ringing. He quickly leapt up and answered it – something to do at last. "Cole Turner." He said, hiding the excitement.   
  
"Turner, its Lieutenant Morris... Have you done something to George Kemp this morning?" He asked nervously, "He's due in court in twenty minutes and no one's seen or heard from him since yesterday."  
  
Cole shook his head. "Morris, I'm not going to take the blame for every person that goes missing in this damn town! I'm not the only de... Did you say George Kemp?"   
  
Darryl checked his watch nervously as Cole spoke, "You've been working on the Marsden-Warner case with him. Anything you can think of that might help us find him?"  
  
No, Cole finally responded. "You want me to head over to the courthouse  
and file for an extension?"  
  
Darryl shook his head, "That wouldn't help, what would be the grounds? You know Judge Finnigan is a hard ass when it comes to extensions, especially if the lead attorney's absence is the cause."  
  
"At least let me try," Cole insisted. "We can't just default on a thirty  
million dollar wrongful death suit. Besides..." he added, "I handled the due diligence for that case before I went on my honeymoon. I could probably  
stand-in, if you give me the case file."

Darryl sighed and wiped the sweat from his face with his handkerchief, being a Lieutenant was a huge step up from Inspector. "Oh yeah hand over the case file to a demon, your work firm may not know about you but I am not getting involved with you. If you see him, tell him he's needed at the courthouse. I'm gonna go see the chief about an extension; he might be able to convince the Judge." Morris swiftly cuts Cole off before he could reply; he wasn't in the mood for talking to him any longer than necessary.

Cole angrily burnt his phone in the palm of his hand, and then when opening his hand – ash dropped to the ground. He sat back down on the sofa and held his head in his hands, what a mess.

_**Police Station Car Park**_

At the Police Station car park Morris hurried to his car, whilst talking on his cell phone. "That's right sir, the main man for this case is missing I just need you to convince the Judge to give an extension – otherwise Marsden walks a freeman. Nothing you can do? Sir you know I worked tirelessly on bringing Marsden's operation down it was one of the reasons for my promotion – now that we have him behind bars he **has** to stay there. Yes, I am aware who the Judge is for this case. That's why I need you to talk to him, he only listens to you." Darryl breathed a sigh of relief and punched his fist in the air. "Thank you sir, yes – I'm heading over to Kemp's apartment now."

At that moment, two men in plain black clothing came towards Darryl. "Lieutenant Morris?" The first man asked, standing just in front of his colleague.

"I'll keep you informed." Darryl told the Chief as he hung up his cell phone. "Yeah that's me, who's asking?" He asked, trying to block the sun from his eyes with his hand.

"My name is Mr. White, and this is my colleague Mr. Black. We'd like to discuss the Marsden-Warner case with you."

Darryl (who was still trying to block the sun out of his view) shook his head, "Sorry gentlemen but I'm not at liberty to discuss my cases with civilians. If you have anything to contribute someone at the desk will be glad to help." He smiled and moved his hand away from the sun, going to unlock his car.

The second man stepped forward, "No we would like to discuss it with **you **Lieutenant." He told him, moving his hand back and firing an energy bolt at Morris, knocking him out cold. "You killed him." Mr. White said, staring Darryl's unconscious body. "No, it was low voltage - he'll live." The men picked up a side of Darryl each and shimmered away.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Plot thickens

_Part Two_

Later that afternoon a smartly dressed Cole enters the Police Chief's office. "Ah Turner, at last." The chief said, putting his pen back in a holder.

"What's this all about sir? Did Lieutenant Morris get in touch with you? Where is he?" Cole asked, looking confused.

"Hasn't been seen since leaving the station early this afternoon, wondered if you knew anything."

"First George Kemp, now Morris..." Cole said thinking aloud.

"That's what we said; you could be the next one to go missing Turner. That's why we're putting round the clock protection on you."

Cole raised an eyebrow and looked rather smug, "I can handle myself sir, and I'll personally see to it that whoever's trying to sabotage our case, is bought to justice."

"Never the less, I'm putting a man on you." The chief told him raising his voice; he wasn't the type to be argued with.

Cole smiled and nodded, as he started backing off – eventually rushing out of the door. "Turner!" The chief could be heard yelling, as Cole rushed out of the building.

_**Police Station Car Park**_

Cole immediately took notice of Darryl's cell phone, lying on the ground just underneath his car. Then, all of a sudden it began ringing. He picked up the cell phone and accepted the call; a quiet voice began to talk. "Drop the case and the Lieutenant will be returned safely." The voice instructed Cole.

"Who is this?" Cole demanded to know, shouting down the phone. No reply came back and the phone went dead.

At that moment, the familiar two men approached Cole. He quickly turned to face them, being able to sense their presence. Suddenly it all began to fall in to place for the demon. "So you're the scumbags that have been sabotaging our case?"

"Belthazor? Well this is a surprise, we thought you were dead." Mr. White told him, speaking on behalf of them both.

"What is this? Marsden isn't a demon, why are you protecting him?"

"Tell me Belthazor, why the sudden interest in human affairs?" Mr. Black asked, stepping forward.

"I was about to ask you guys the same question, helping humans?" The demon do-gooder asked.

"He's a very important acquaintance. Especially when we want to establish ourselves in this plane. He knows the right people. And with him being behind bars, it is rather difficult." Mr. White explained.

"Establish yourselves? And you kidnap a very good friend to the Charmed Ones? That isn't smart, what would the Source say?" Cole told them, sarcastically and grinning.

"Who knows? He's dead. You cannot fool us Belthazor, you're a human now." Mr. Black told him, lighting an energy bolt and launching it at the demon district attorney.

The energy bolt hit Cole but had no affect, it didn't even move him. "Is that the best you can do?" He asked them, as he lit a fireball and threw at the same demon that threw the energy bolt.

Mr. Black shimmered away and re-appeared behind Cole, firing another energy bolt. It still had no affect on him. "Let's go." Mr. White instructed, and they both shimmered away.

Cole sighed and threw a fireball at the CCTV camera that was attached the wall, incinerating it on impact. He put Darryl's cell phone in his back pocket, and walked away.

_**Demon lair**_

Darryl stood in the centre of an all black room; it was like a basement only.... It had no door. Below Darryl' right eye blood trickled mockingly, the demons had obviously done some damage. His continuous screams for help and banging on the walls had amounted to nothing.

One of his captors shimmered in to the room, knocking Morris off his feet. "Well, well, Belthazor lives. You forgot to mention that when we tortured you, is there anything else you missed out Lieutenant?" Mr. White asked, looking down on Darryl who still hadn't got to his feet. "Perhaps you need a little encouragement..." The demon waved his hand at the wall in front and the bricks began to collapse to the sound of thunder. When the dust had settled, the demon urged Darryl to look at the wall he collapsed.

Darryl screamed in horror and inched further away, the bloodied body of George Kemp was staring back at him.

"He had himself to blame, he kept things from us, refused to drop the case. You're not that foolish are you Lieutenant?"

"The Charmed ones will kick your ass back in to hell!" Darryl's low husky voice told them, as he spat out blood towards his enemies.

The demon shook his head, "I'm disappointed... You have until the sand reaches the bottom of the glass before I kill you, you might want to re-think your answer." Clicking his fingers, an hourglass appeared and hovered in mid air. "There's about... an hour's worth of sand in that, after that I will lose my patience." The demon shimmered away, leaving Darryl to re-think his attitude.

At the court room Cole is doing his best to delay the case. "Mr. Turner there will be no delays, Mr. Stan Marsden will be set free and cleared of all charges." The Judge told him, slamming down his hammer.

Cole shook his head; he couldn't quite believe the Judge was letting a known criminal walk. "You can't do this, the man's a murderer! Marsden killed Tom Warner in cold blood just because he refused to buy narcotics! At least three people saw it; he even had blood on his clothing and his finger prints were on the knife!"

"Mr. Turner you will respect my decision, or I'll be forced to file a complaint and have you thrown in jail!" The Judge yelled from the bench, waving his arms around as he shouted.

_**Outside Court**_

Marsden grinned at Cole, as he walked by with his lawyer. "Hey Turner, nice try. You know you need to lighten up, come with me, we'll blow shit up - its fun!"

Cole launched himself at the killer, forcing him against the car. "You stay smug pal, I know who you're working with!"

"Mr. Turner, did you not hear what the Judge told you!" Marsden's lawyer shouted, pulling him off his client.

Cole straightened his tie and backed away, "This isn't over! Not by a long shot!" He shouted as the two men drove away. Then, with a cheeky smile he ran forward and vanished.

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. Hideout

_**Part Three**_

The limousine pulled up outside a factory, Marsden and his lawyer stepped out. "It's gonna look suspicious seeing a limo outside an old factory, take it away and we'll call you when you're needed." The lawyer informed the driver; the man nodded and drove away.

"I know a copula guys that'll take care of Turner, but what we gonna about the cop?" Marsden asked as they entered the factory.

As they walked, the lawyer changed form - he was Mr. Black. "There's not much your contacts can do, Turner's a demon."

In the basement of the factory, the hourglass was reaching a climax. Darryl had taken advantage of the whole in the wall, it lead to a dingy sewer tunnel where he was still searching for a way out.

Meanwhile, the chauffeur from the limousine was still driving when Cole appeared next to him. Before the driver had time to panic, he was knocked out. Cole turned the limousine back in the direction of the factory.

Marsden and the two demons sat in the factory office, planning their next step. "Combining our strengths might not even be enough to destroy Belthazor; you saw what little affect our energy bolts had on him. He easily rivals our powers." Mr. White told his demon colleague.

"Stop pacing about, you're making me nervous. Maybe we could cut a deal with the Charmed ones, the cop alive and well if they vanquish Belthazor."

"No, the Charmed ones are not even aware we exist, best to keep it that way for now."

"Maybe we don't have to figure out a way to kill him. We could simply... Take his powers." Marsden informed the demons, with a sly smile. He stood up and faced the demons, "Think about it, he's a powerful guy. I could absorb the hallow, then when he uses his powers on me and they're mine."

"We'd never be able to gain access to that sort of power, and besides the demonic factions would kill us for just mentioning the name, it's out of the question." Mr. White told him, as he walked out of the office. "I'm gonna see if the Cop's gonna drop the case."

"Just kill him." Mr. Black shouted.

"What a good idea, and then the Charmed ones hunt us dow- Wait... That's it! We plant the dead cop in Belthazor's office, the Charmed ones find out where he was and they kill Belthazor!" Mr. White shimmered in to the basement, only to see Darryl had gone.

"Black, Quick!" He shouted, summoning his demonic colleague.

"I forgot to seal the wall, he's escaped through the tunnels!" The two demons headed for the sewer tunnels, splitting up and covering a tunnel each.

Cole entered the office where Marsden was, waving his hand once in front of his face as he now spoke "Sir, I have some bad news..." As Marsden looked at him, he was under the impression it was his chauffeur.

"What is it?" Marsden asked, looking a little surprised to his chauffeur back. "How did you get in without my knowing?"

Before his eyes, the limo driver seemed to changed back to the familiar face of Cole, "Your drivers gone. The police are on their way, how worse can it get?" He said with a smile.

"Well, in that case Mr. Turner – You're in real trouble. You kidnapped me, killed my diver and kidnapped the Judge." Marsden wasn't in the least surprised to see Cole; he'd half expected him to show up. "Nice try by the way." He told him rather smugly.

Cole turned to see Judge Finnigan standing before him. "Your powers are useless now Belthazor, a little stipulation of my own, I magically blocked this factory. Only I can use my power now." He blinked twice and sent Cole smashing through the door window. "I'll also make sure I magically protect your cell, you'll rot like a mortal." He followed Cole over to the door and kicked him across the room.

Cole, barely making it to his feet, stumbled over to a door – locked. He repeatedly thrusted himself in to it as the Judge came near. "Allow me." He said making Cole fly through the door with just a wave of the hand. He fell down a load of stairs, landing hard on the floor, the room around him began to spin and eventually he lost consciousness.

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Team Work

_Part Four_

Darryl had gotten lost in the tunnels, they seemed to never end. Every route he took was the same, and he was certain the tunnel he headed down now was one he'd been in before. He could hear the demons loud footsteps, they were certainly getting near.

And then, quite suddenly, he heard a curious little vibrating sound coming from the rails on either side of him. Must have been just beyond the walls, meaning he wasn't that far from civilisation. It was very soft, this sound, scarcely audible, a tiny little humming, thrumming whisper that seemed to be coming along the rails far away. "A train." He whispered thinking aloud.

The vibrating along the rails grew louder, then louder still. He looked in to the distance and could still hear the voices. "HEY!! I'm down here, I give up, enough is enough!! I won't ever mention this case, HEY!!" He shouted continuously, trying to lead the demon to him.

"Looking for me?" It was Mr. Black, standing right behind him.

"Kill me!" He shouted at the demon.

"With pleasure." He said with a smile, throwing an energy bolt at him.

Darryl quickly dived clear and watched it open the wall behind. He took out his revolver and fired three times in succession, only forcing the demon back a few steps and barely hurting him. It was then that he saw the train. At first it was a speck, a faraway black dot, but in those seconds that he kept firing, his gun, the dot grew bigger and bigger, and it began to take shape, and soon it was no longer a dot but the big, square, blunt front-end of a diesel express. Darryl fired his gun again as the demon began to gather his bearings, and then as the train was about to pass he charged the demon and at full force, knocking him on to the railway for the train to make its mark.

One down, one to go. He jumped on to the railway lines and followed the tracks.

Cole woke up to find himself in the back of a squad car, hand-cuffed and on his way to the station. What power did he have for this? Simple demonic strength, he broke free of the cuffs and smashed the cage that separated front and back, knocking the officers out with it. He took the car along with the unconscious duo back to the factory. But paused when reaching it, the Judge had magically protected the place... His powers would be useless. THIS IS CAPTAIN MORRIS, DO YOU READ ME? OVER A voice could be heard from the radio. "Morris? It's Cole."

"Turner? What the hell are you doing in a squad car?" Darryl asked, he was in an old station alongside the railway. Sitting by a rusty transmitter.

"It doesn't matter, listen. Judge Finnigan is a demon, he's working with Marsden!"

"What? Are you sure? Look, I need backup. I'm in an old station in the subway. There are two demons after me, well... One, the other is splattered across the railway further down." Then, the radio went dead as Darryl could only watch the flames. The other demon had found him.

"You put up quite a fight, but you're only human." Before he could throw another energy bolt, he jerked forward and set on fire. Cole was standing behind him. The demon fell to the floor, and only black scorch marks were left.

The following morning Cole and Darryl are discussing the previous events, "I should-a known Finnigan was a demon. His reputation is just like William 'Free Willy' Snyder's" Darryl told him, "But what do I tell the Police chief in my report?"

"Well, you cleared my name. Marsden may still be at large but at least Phoebe and her sisters know the Judge is demon, they can work on a vanquish spell. I guess you tell your chief Marsden's lawyer was corrupt, just don't mention Finnigan in your report. Right now, he's untouchable" Cole put the phone down and walked in to courtroom one, putting his briefcase down and taking files out from it. He looked up to see the Judge walk in, and then smiled in relief to see it was someone different. "My wife can have everything. I'm nothing without her." The client told Cole, as Cole read a file and sipped a glass of water.

THE END


End file.
